If We Can Keep It - Chapters 1 and 2

If We Can Keep It: How the Republic Collapsed and How it Might be Saved was written by Michael Tomasky in 2019. I've noticed that a lot of books written about American politics before the 2020 election feel like they're missing the important context of those events. But this book shoots all the way back to the inception of our country as the Great Experiment it is, to provide historical context which is often overlooked or underestimated.

On Tyranny - Lesson 20: Be as Courageous as You Can [and final thoughts]

We did it! We're here! To the 5ish people who've been consistently reading these posts, I don't know who you are but thanks for joining me on this journey and I hope you stick around for the next book. :) 

The final lesson Timothy Snyder gives us from the 20th Century On Tyranny is to be as courageous as possible. The chapter sub-header is a little ominous: "If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny." Oof, right?

On Tyranny - Lesson 19: Be a Patriot

 Lesson 19 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny is to be a patriot by setting an example for what America should be for the next generation. 

On Tyranny - Lesson 18: Be Calm When the Unthinkable Arrives

Lesson 18 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny: Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Don't let the government freak you out enough to willingly usher in the fall of democracy. In this lesson, Snyder focuses on how Hitler and Putin both managed to retain power and destroy public institutions.

On Tyranny - Lesson 17: Listen for Dangerous Words

 Lesson 17 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny is to listen for dangerous words. Snyder focuses on the words extremism and terrorism, but I'll add some important caveats and contextual examples.

On Tyranny - Lesson 16: Learn From Peers in Other Countries

 Lesson 16 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny is to learn from peers in other countries. The United States isn't going through our current political strife without context or in a vacuum. The entire world saw an anti-incumbent movement as well as a shift towards far-right policies and politicians. 

On Tyranny - Lesson 15: Contribute to Good Causes

 Lesson 15 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny; almost down to the final 5! Contribute to Good Causes

On Tyranny - Lesson 14: Develop a Private Life

 Lesson 14 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny: develop a private life; keep your secrets secret

On Tyranny - Lesson 13: Practice Corporeal Politics

Keeping it rolling - lesson 13 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny: practice corporeal politics

A+ for you if you already know what corporeal means; I looked it up before reading the chapter. It means with your body or material objects. So practice politics with your body in a material way. 

On Tyranny - Lesson 12: Make Eye Contact and Small Talk *or.. Make Connections*

 Lesson 12 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny is only one page long: make eye contact and small talk

On Tyranny - Lesson 11: Investigate

 Lesson 11 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny: Investigate

Snyder issues two main calls to action here: invest in good journalism, and take responsibility for the information you spread.

On Tyranny - Lesson 10: Believe in Truth

 Lesson 10 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny - we're half way there. If you're still reading, or if you're tapping in at the mid-point, welcome. Thanks for taking the time. This lesson is one that feels a little hopeless to me sometimes. Believe in truth.

On Tyranny - Lesson 9: Be Kind to Our Language

 Lesson 9 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny: be kind to our language. This one might be a love/hate situation. You'll either agree completely, or you'll want to tell me to fork off and that there's no way you're doing it.

On Tyranny - Lesson 8: Stand Out

Number 8 of 20 lessons on how to prevent authoritarian rule by learning from those who saw such backslides in the 20th Century: Stand out.

On Tyranny - Lesson 7: Be Reflective if you Must Be Armed

 Lesson 7 blew my mind, and to some degree changed how I think about those who carried out the Holocaust. Be reflective if you must be armed.

On Tyranny - Lesson 6: Beware *some* Paramilitary Groups

Lesson 6 is to beware of paramilitary groups. The notion is that governments generally try to keep a monopoly on violence. When you see paramilitary groups working outside of the law to support a leader or a cause with violence, it's often orchestrated by people in power to exploit lawless implementation of their agenda.

On Tyranny - Lesson 5: Remember Professional Ethics

 Lesson 5 is another easy one: remember professional ethics. Snyder points out that all kinds of atrocities were committed by all kinds of professionals during the Nazi regime in Germany. Doctors and scientists performed medical experiments on unwilling participants, businessmen exploited cheap labor from concentration camps, lawyers and judges sentenced innocent people to death without trials. 

On Tyranny - Lesson 4: Take Responsibility for the Face of the World

 Lesson 4 is to take responsibility for the face of the world. This lesson is about noticing symbols, being careful about what symbols you wear yourself, and being intentional about what you do with symbols out in the world.

On Tyranny - Lesson 3: Be Aware of the One Party State

Making my way through this book is so easy, it's unreal. I sometimes struggle to trudge through non-fiction, especially historical non-fiction. But knowing each lesson is under 5 pages makes it super accessible. I highly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in reading political non-fiction. Lesson 3 is really about staying vigilant in watch of Democracy. You never know when it might be your last chance to defend it.

On Tyranny - Lesson 2: Defend Institutions

 Welcome back to the series I'm committing to 20 Lessons From the 20th Century On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, inspired by ! Lesson 2 is to Defend Institutions. This is difficult, because I have some distrust of institutions so it's hard to want to defend them, even as they fail us. 

On Tyranny - Prologue and Lesson 1: Do Not Obey in Advance

Within my first days on BlueSky I found a sense of community with many users. I've seen a ton of book recommendations, but none have entranced me like one friend's posts about On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. Lobstah Grl has posted brief summaries of each chapter, and by lesson 3 I made plans for a trip to the library because I HAD to check this book out. As the title suggests, it's a book of lessons we learned about tyranny in the 20th Century. It's a relevant topic, as we see a shift towards fascism across the world, but particularly here in the United States. What better way to learn than from history? And how better to learn than together? This begins a series of posts outlining the lessons from this book with my own commentary and ties to our current political landscape.

Tariffs

The word of the week is, apparently, tariff. During his campaign, Trump boasted of a plan to implement a 60% tariff on Chinese goods, and a 20% tariff on virtually all other imported goods, and that was just to start. Calling himself Tariff Man, he claimed that these large sweeping tariffs would lower food prices. But tariffs don't lower food prices, they raise them.

Goon Squad Government

 As it turns out, the only qualification necessary to play in the sandbox of Trump's next administration is unwavering loyalty. The Senate rarely denies presidential appointments of their administration, but we're about to see just how in-Trump's-pocket the Senate is. This is their first test. If they confirm some of the most dangerous administration nominations in history, Trump will know that they'll do anything for him. He's even requested they simply step aside, to give up their authority to check executive power by taking a recess, allowing him to push all of his nominations through completely unchecked. On a rare positive note: every single Senator would have to vote to recess.. There's no way, right? ... Right??

"Politics Shouldn't Divide Us"

 Often after political decisions have been made to the detriment of large groups of people, the blame-game begins and those facing the prospect of material harm lash out at those who facilitated those decisions. After Trump won the 2024 election women, BIPOC, and the LGBTQ+ communities lashed out at the people in their lives who voted for Trump. We felt betrayed, angry, and fearful and we wanted those who voted for Trump to know what they'd done to bring these feelings on for us. Sometimes, people chose to cut ties with Trump voters. I think it's important to distinguish that this choice wasn't made over something small or insignificant. Donald Trump poses a direct threat to marginalized groups and to support Trump is to support the execution of that threat. Still, often the response to those lashing out or cutting ties is this: "You're really going to let politics come between us? You're going to let politics divide us? Politics shouldn't divide us and if you think it should, you're the problem."

Who Are We?

The United States of America has always been a melting pot, of sorts. But we have also always maintained a large portion of our population which opposes the melting of the pot. One group (rich white people, to call them out) has always stood on the backs of others despite our lofty goals like liberty and justice for all. We are a nation build on violent oppression, which simultaneously espoused values that seemed to contradict the very nature of our founding.